


The King's Speech

by slylyaddictedtostories



Category: Pirates of the Caribbean (Movies)
Genre: Angst, Canon Compliant, Character Study, F/M, Movie: Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-14
Updated: 2020-10-14
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:02:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26989465
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/slylyaddictedtostories/pseuds/slylyaddictedtostories
Summary: Elizabeth Swann never wanted to die. She wanted a life of adventure, but a life nonetheless. She would trade anything and indeed anyone to keep her life.The Pirate King couldn't care less if she lived or died. All that she needed was something worth fighting for.
Relationships: Jack Sparrow/Elizabeth Swann
Comments: 4
Kudos: 31





	The King's Speech

**Author's Note:**

> This is my take on my absolute favourite Elizabeth Swann moment in the entire series. Because I think that we saw her real self, not constricted by society or by standards or by fear. I think that was the moment she finally let go and we caught a glimpse or the real Pirate King, not the joke Disney made her in POTC 5. We were robbed of seeing a badass Captain Swann in the two final installments and, although I fully respect and understand Keira's refusal to play Elizabeth further, I think they could have ended her character arc WITHOUT completely destroying her growth over the series...  
> ANYWAY, I am ranting :)
> 
> The point is that I tried to portray her as best as I could, as a fierce King, with a dash of Sparrabeth, of course ;)  
> I really hope you will like it!

She could taste the salty water on her lips and the ominous breeze vibrating through her heart. She never felt such a poignant sense of anticipation before and she was caught between wanting to jump up and down screaming or running to crawl into a hole and stay there, hidden for the rest of her life. Would she be a coward to turn her back on them now? 

_The oldest and noblest pirate tradition, love_

They were all cowards aboard the _Black Pearl_ anyway, not even one exception. Would it really matter one more? Would it really hurt them that much if she turned away now? Who was she to them, anyway?

_Elizabeth Swann, the Governor's daughter_

She was a nobody. A little frightened girl, dressed up in a ridiculously fancy armor, babbling uselessly among experienced sailors. A cowardly girl who would never save anyone else from an abyss, but would rather push them further down just to save her own skin. A devil, a black sheep, a really bad egg, that's what she was. A pirate through and through. 

_Pirate King_

_He_ had enough faith in her to grant her that title. _He,_ who always looked at her with that patronizing grin, never knowing if it was pride or blunt lewd desire deep in his dark eyes. Perhaps both. Or neither. Maybe he was just so very amused by this bird who thought she could fly higher than him.

A swan, that's what she was. Too delicate for her own good.

_Captain Swann_

The title ringed in her ears so loud, she thought she yelled it on the deck and was almost expecting everyone to turn and stare at her. _Captain._ Sao Feng made her captain. But she hadn't really seen any benefit coming of that title until she heard _him_ utter it, in that infuriating drawl of his. He made it of such importance that now, she couldn't understand how she lived her life before being a captain. 

_Peas in a pod, love..._

That's what they were, apparently. Two captains, adrift, still looking for what they dreamed of on a dark beach, a lifetime ago, drunk on rum and cheerfulness, making useless plans of liberty and unrestricted freedom.

_Not just the Spanish Main, love. The entire ocean. The entire world..._

She realized she was so much like Jack Sparrow it was almost comical. Lies, back-stabbing, ill-used charm, recklessness...

_But he never gave up hope..._

_And he was a good man._

The world had no need of Elizabeth Swann in that moment. She was too young, too inexperienced and too scared. What the world needed was Jack Sparrow.

_Captain Jack Sparrow_

"It's not something I am intending to die for," Barbossa told her and she felt so much pity for him. He seemed _scared,_ and she wondered if the same horror could be read on her features. She was now certain that any man, even Barbossa, had his breaking point. And a bloody armada of trained soldiers would unnerve anyone, especially a group of people unaccustomed with battle and very keen on running away. Everyone was scared of something.

But _he_ wasn't.

It dawned on her that she had never seen him actually afraid. Sad, disappointed, resigned, yes. Angry, even more so. But she never saw him _scared_ , utterly frozen in terror. Not when he fought Barbossa, not when they marooned him on a deserted island, not when he faced the gallows, not when Davy Jones' crew were hunting them, not even when she left him to die. Not even when she killed him. Just a mischievous twinkle in his kohl-rimmed eyes, with an understanding smile and a certainty of hand she couldn't have mastered. Her hands were shaking violently when she chained him up and she sneered at him to hide her fear. But he wasn't unnerved, welcoming her mouth with careless eagerness. And she loathed him for that. Probably quite the opposite, actually, but that thought was too much to process at the moment.

Jack Sparrow wasn't afraid of dying, so she couldn't be either. She embraced death, content and almost giddy for living up to do what her childhood hero would.

_She will fight._

But she wouldn't be able to do it alone...

"You're right," she told Barbossa in a tired whisper and fought to push the despair down. She HAD to fight. He made her King for the sole reason she appeared to have the necessary guts to fight against Beckett and Jones. And if they were so alike, she should believe what he did. She should believe she _could do anything._ She should believe she was a _pirate._ She should believe she was a _King._

"Then what shall we die for?"

What indeed? What was precious enough for these men, these rotten products of society, that they should face their greatest fears and follow a stranger into battle?

_That's what a ship is, you know..._

She had listened to him intently that night, hungry for the haunting words escaping his soft lips. He had a way with words that absolutely captivated her. People always listened when Jack Sparrow spoke, and now, she needed people to listen to her as well.

Deadly resolve in her eyes, she finally felt it. _The spark._ The same fluttering feeling in her belly that always accompanied big moments. The living fire woke up inside her and she spat at the frightened pirates around her.

"You will listen to me," she commanded them.

_They had to listen..._

"LISTEN!" she shouted, pouring the last bits of dread in that scream, relieving herself of doubt and worry. There was nothing soft left in her at this point; just fire and ash and an appetite for violence.

_We will fight._

"The other ships will still be looking to us, to the _Black Pearl_ , to lead and what will they see?", she said, perched up on the wooden ledge of the ship. She glanced down at the crew, _her_ crew, looking at her wide eyed, seemingly interested in what she had to say. And in that moment, seeing their eagerness to look up to someone, to hear _something_ good enough to motivate them, she felt something blossom in her heart, something that she hadn't felt in such a long time that now it seemed bizarre and unknown to her soul. But, by Gods, did she love that feeling!

_Hope..._

"Frightened bilge-rats aboard a derelict ship?" 

_It's not just a keel and a hull and a deck and sails, that's what a ship needs but what a ship is..._

"No, they will see free men!" she screamed from the top of her lungs.

_what the Black Pearl really is... is freedom..._

"And freedom!" she howled, pouring all her anger and despair and raw emotion and _Gods help her,_ love in that single word: **_freedom._**

She knew she would never have it. Elizabeth Swann had been caged her entire life. She was used to bars and chains and she believed that she could live well enough like this, even if it would wreck her slowly. Because Elizabeth Swann never wanted to die. She wanted a life of adventure, but a life nonetheless. She would trade anything and indeed anyone to keep her life.

The Pirate King couldn't care less if she lived or died. All that she needed was something worth fighting for. The Pirate King desired freedom and she'll be damned if she wouldn't put up a good show for that.

"And what the enemy will see, they will see the flash of our cannons..."

_A flash of gold shimmering in a bonfire, hidden beneath a sinful smile..._

"They will hear the ringing of our swords..."

_Metal rings clanking on the shackles strangling her throat..._

"And they will know what we can do!"

_He_ knew what she could do. In a way, he may have always did. He saw the fire in her eyes and the longing in her soul and gave her not what she wanted, no, _never_ what she wanted, but he always gave her what she _needed._

He knew what Elizabeth Swann could do. He knew what the Pirate King could do. And, most importantly, he knew that Elizabeth Swann _could_ be the Pirate King.

Because he trusted her with this.

And so, she would trust him, his faith in her, and she would lead them. She would lead the _Black Pearl._

Request from Captain Jack Sparrow for Pirate King Elizabeth Swann.

"By the sweat of our brow and the strength of our backs and the courage in our hearts!" she finished, knowing that bravery was what Elizabeth Swann lacked. She had ambition and desire, but she lacked the courage and the spine to tell him she was sorry. The Pirate King would make no such mistakes.

The Pirate King was perfection. And _he_ offered it to her.

She didn't want the Pirate King, not with all the responsibility that it came with.

But she _needed_ it.

"Gentlemen..."

_Friends. Companions. Pirates..._

"Hoist the colours!"

**Author's Note:**

> So... this was it! As always, do comment and review, I highly appreciate any form of feedback, so.. don't be shy, I don't bite!
> 
> *usually*


End file.
